2025 TMA/SDM Excellence Awards Finalists Announced

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce the finalists for its 2025 Excellence Awards. This year, the awards competition received a total of 37 entries across five categories. Listed in alphabetical order by company within each category, the finalists are:

Monitoring Center of the Year – Enterprise

  • Affiliated Monitoring
  • Becklar Monitoring
  • TELUS Smarthome Security & Secure Business

 Monitoring Center of the Year – SMB

  • Elite Interactive Solutions
  • Kimberlite – Sonitrol
  • Pro-Vigil

 Monitoring Center Manager of the Year

  • Shari Wilson, ADT LLC
  • Allen Waldrip, Brinks Home
  • Galina Klimchuk, Vivint, an NRG company

 Monitoring Center Operator of the Year

  • Terell King, ADT LLC
  • Jennifer Rivera, Affiliated Monitoring
  • Carol Marcil, TELUS Smarthome Security & Secure Business

 Monitoring Center Support Person of the Year:

  • Michael Christatos, Affiliated Monitoring
  • Heather Ferrara, COPS Monitoring
  • Johnny Garcia, Kimberlite – Sonitrol

TMA’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards recognize any FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL or UL-listed monitoring center (TMA members) and outstanding personnel who perform in the highest professional manner, thereby making a significant contribution to the betterment of the alarm industry and the alarm profession while demonstrating exceptional service to their customers and community.

The purpose of the awards program is to:

  • Establish and promote the inherent value of professional monitoring services in general.
  • Honor those who have made the most significant contributions to the service.
  • Promote the distinct level of professionalism attained by NRTL-approved monitoring centers.

TMA’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards are co-sponsored by SDM Magazine, which will publish a feature story on this year’s award winners in its August issue. Entries are judged by a volunteer judging panel appointed by TMA. The five winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony presented on April 24, 2025, at 3:00 pm ET. For past winners and more information, visit https://tma.us/events/awards/excellence-awards/.

Register to attend the General Business Meeting and Awards Presentation at https://themonitoringassociation.growthzoneapp.com/ap/Events/Register/52FvwwJsbCWCq

Tampa Police Department Implements ASAP Service to Handle Alarm Notifications

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

Each year, the center handles about 300,000 calls for emergency service and dispatches the appropriate police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical response. Roughly 20,000 of these calls are generated by alarms and sensors. The center is the 150th 911 center nationwide and the 12th in Florida to implement ASAP Service.

Traditionally, alarm/sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to 911 centers via telephone. Each one required manual interaction between alarm-monitoring-center personnel and 911 telecommunicators. Sometimes it takes as many as five voice calls to deliver the information needed by the 911 center to dispatch the appropriate emergency response. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error — both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives and property.

ASAP Service eliminates these challenges by electronically transmitting alarm and sensor data directly into the 911 center’s computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system, reducing response times by two minutes on average and freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.

“The Tampa Police Department aims to serve our community in the most effective way possible, and technology plays a crucial role in achieving that goal,” said Chief Lee Bercaw. “We are constantly seeking out and integrating innovative tools that empower officers to respond to community needs with greater efficiency, precision, and ultimately, increased effectiveness. This proactive approach ensures we are able to provide the best possible service and improve safety in our community.”

According to Mike Terracciano, public-safety-technology manager for the city of Tampa’s Technology and Innovation department, telecommunicators are trained to ask only those questions that will enable them to quickly determine the best response to the emergency. As a result, useful information that the alarm company possesses for each of its clients typically went untapped.

“Now, with ASAP Service, that supplemental information — which might ring important from a responder-safety perspective — is readily available and easily accessed,” Terracciano said.

Learn more about how TMA’s ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.

About Tampa 911 Communications Center

The 911 Communications Center receives requests for emergency and nonemergency services from the public and various city agencies. The center’s primary mission is to provide effective and efficient communication between citizens requesting police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical service and the units that respond. It also endeavors to expeditiously provide various other support services for police, fire, and administrative operations.

DMP Recognizes Top Dealers of 2024

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DMP recognized top dealers at the DMP Owners Forum. This event was held at Fontainebleau Las Vegas the day before ISC West. Special recognition was given to dealers in Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond level categories for their accomplishments in 2024. Dealer of the Year awards were presented in several categories.

DMP also recognized Dealers of the Year for certain product categories, celebrating the use of these various products.

Dealer of the Year award winners were announced for certain vertical markets, including Banking Dealer of the Year Securitas Technology and Retail Dealer of the Year OWL Services.

Each year, the New Dealer of the Year is celebrated. This year it was awarded to SAV Digital Environments. The Community Service Dealer Award was given to Tel-Tec Security Systems.

Additional recognition went to dealers that achieved outstanding sales volume and partnership with DMP.

These awards are presented annually by DMP to celebrate the success of their dealers.

*TMA member company

View Dealer Awards Photo Album.

 

Elite Interactive Solutions Hosts Lunch-and Learn Event for Law Enforcement

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Elite Interactive Solutions, a remote video guarding pioneer using patented intelligence and integration to achieve proven crime prevention, recently gathered law enforcement officials to its headquarters for a special invitational lunch-and-learn event. The function exemplifies Elite’s multifaceted mission to strengthen private-public partnerships by educating officers on how remote guarding directly prevents crime and protects properties in real-time, eliminates false alarms, boosts law enforcement apprehensions productivity, and enhances their safety via critical, live crime scene information.

Hosted by Elite’s Law Enforcement Advisory Board, the well-received proceedings encompassed touring the company’s leading-edge, subterranean Security Operations Command Center (SOCC), a multimedia presentation held within an adjacently located auditorium, a Q&A session, lunch and networking. The SOCC is located within one of L.A.’s most bulletproof buildings, built to withstand an 8.9-magnitude earthquake. Attendee enthusiasm ran high at the event, as did widespread interest to encourage their respective LE agencies to support remote guarding relationships.

“Working closely and collaboratively with law enforcement is a crucial element to Elite’s unmatched real-time crime prevention solution. Although 96% of incidents are directly resolved by our command center through live voice-downs to sites within an average of 7 seconds, it’s essential that for the other 4% in which law enforcement is engaged they fully understand Elite’s capabilities and veracity such that they provide priority response that leads to arrests and detainments,” says Elite Security Director Noel Delgado. “Our recent event was an excellent way to get officers out of their daily routines to observe firsthand how optimized remote guarding works. Virtually everyone who witnesses how our command center operates becomes a believer.”

Further demonstrating Elite’s private-public partnerships, the firm is also the only provider of its kind that maintains its own Law Enforcement Advisory Board (LEAB) and
that is endorsed by FBI-LEEDA, which includes thousands of law enforcement executives. The LEAB serves as a protocol and communications bridge between the Elite SOCC and responding agencies.

“Elite has consistently demonstrated a companywide and nationwide commitment to stopping rather than reacting to crime, as well as acting in the best interests of not only their clients but police as well,” says LEAB member Justin Feffer, an attorney who retired in 2020 as commanding officer of the L.A. County D.A.’s Cyber Crime Section. “As someone who has been involved with law enforcement since 1988, I well know their challenges and how remote guarding serves as an invaluable force multiplier and safety net. It is an amazing experience when I tell them about it and see their eyes light up for that ‘Aha!’ moment.”

Members of the law enforcement community and security industry, along with property managers and other parties interested in seeing how leading-edge technology is being leveraged for real-time crime prevention are encouraged to contact Elite to schedule a command center tour.

Tampa Police Department Implements ASAP Service

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). TPD is the 150th ECC to go live with ASAP.

Each year, the center handles about 300,000 calls for emergency service and dispatches the appropriate police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical response. Roughly 20,000 of these calls are generated by alarms and sensors.

Traditionally, alarm/sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to 911 centers via telephone. Each one required manual interaction between alarm-monitoring-center personnel and 911 telecommunicators. Sometimes it takes as many as five voice calls to deliver the information needed by the 911 center to dispatch the appropriate emergency response. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error — both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives and property.

ASAP Service eliminates these challenges by electronically transmitting alarm and sensor data directly into the 911 center’s computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system, reducing response times by two minutes on average and freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.

This is especially important given how TPD’s 911 Communications Center operated before the advent of ASAP Service, according to Richard Parsons, communications supervisor. Unlike other 911 centers, alarm and sensor calls came into the center on a 911 line, rather than a nonemergency administrative line. Consequently, those calls went into the same call-waiting queue that contained calls that were reporting medical emergencies, crimes, car accidents, structure fires, and the like.

“So, someone having a heart attack might have to wait for a telecommunicator to finish handling a call that was triggered by an animal tripping a motion detector before getting the lifesaving help they need,” Parsons said. “ASAP Service eliminates that problem.”

According to Mike Terracciano, public-safety-technology manager for the city of Tampa, telecommunicators are trained to ask only those questions that will enable them to quickly determine the best response to the emergency. As a result, useful information that the alarm company possesses for each of its clients typically went untapped.

“Now, with ASAP Service, that supplemental information — which might ring important from a responder-safety perspective — is readily available and easily accessed,” Terracciano said.

Learn more about how TMA’s ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.

About Tampa 911 Communications Center

The 911 Communications Center receives requests for emergency and nonemergency services from the public and various city agencies. The center’s primary mission is to provide effective and efficient communication between citizens requesting police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical service and the units that respond. It also endeavors to expeditiously provide various other support services for police, fire, and administrative operations.

DMP Recognizes 2024 Top Dealers at Owners Forum

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DMP celebrated its top dealers at the DMP Owners Forum, held April 1, at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas the day before ISC West. Special recognition was given to dealers in the Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond level categories for their accomplishments in 2024.

Dealer of the Year awards were presented in several categories:

DMP also recognized Dealers of the Year for certain product categories, celebrating the use of these various products:

Dealer of the Year award winners were announced for certain vertical markets, including Banking Dealer of the Year, Securitas Technology, and Retail Dealer of the Year, OWL Services.

Each year, the New Dealer of the Year is celebrated. This year it was awarded to SAV Digital Environments. The Community Service Dealer Award was given to Tel-Tec Security Systems.

Additional recognition went to dealers that achieved outstanding sales volume and partnership with DMP.

These awards are presented annually by DMP to celebrate the success of its dealers. To view the dealer awards photo album, go here.

RAD Announces Entry Level ROSA Solar Trailer to Meet Surging Demand for Mobile Security Solutions

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Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), a subsidiary of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (the “Company”) (OTCPK:AITX), today announced the expansion of its popular RIO™ solar powered, mobile security solution lineup. Named RIO Mini, the new security solution is now in production, with the Company forecasting that it can add up to 500 units to its sales expectations this fiscal year.

The Company joins LiveView Technologies Inc., which raised $50 million in a Series B round in 2022, in finding success and growth in this rapidly expanding market. LiveView Technologies has demonstrated strong demand for solar powered mobile surveillance systems, validating the market opportunity that RAD is now addressing with RIO Mini.
Utilizing a dual configuration of RAD’s award winning ROSA™ device, RIO Mini surpasses other affordable mobile security solutions in performance and value. ROSA is a multiple award-winning, compact, self-contained, portable, security and communication solution that can be installed and activated in about 15 minutes. ROSA’s AI-driven security analytics include human and vehicle detection, and complete integration with RAD’s software suite notification and autonomous response library. Two-way communication is optimized for cellular, including live video from ROSA’s high-resolution, full-color, always-on cameras. RAD has published six Case Studies detailing how ROSA has helped eliminate instances of theft, trespassing and loitering at retail centers, hospital campuses, multi-family communities, car rental locations and construction sites across the country.

RIO Mini joins RAD’s existing RIO lineup, which includes the popular RIO 180 and RIO 360 units, further filling in the product family. RIO Mini is expected to achieve greater profitability than the primary RIO lineup while being substantially less expensive for clients. It will feature reduced analytics processing and limitations on other select features while maintaining RAD’s core Autonomous Intelligent Response capabilities. The device is enabled by a lower cost modified version of RAD G’s RADPack, providing consistent performance in a compact and economical format.

Steve Reinharz, CEO/CTO of AITX and RAD, commented, “We are starting to see the benefits after years of hardware and software development by AITX’s various subsidiaries. Utilizing internally developed analytics and electronics hardware and benefiting from our complete control of the supply chain, we are well-positioned to compete aggressively in the mobile surveillance unit marketplace. This new solution will enable dealers and our internal sales team to expand their target markets to include clients that want the basics of intelligent autonomous response.”
As with all RAD security solutions, RIO Mini is supported by SARA™, the Company’s multiple award-winning AI-based software platform. SARA (Speaking Autonomous Responsive Agent) provides real-time responsiveness, centralized device management, and seamless integration across RAD’s ecosystem of autonomous security technologies.
RIO Mini was introduced to the public last week during ISC West in Las Vegas, the security industry’s largest and most influential trade show. The response from RAD’s channel partners, existing clients, and new prospects was overwhelmingly positive. Many attendees expressed interest in how RIO Mini’s streamlined design and accessible pricing could open new markets and use cases that complement the existing RIO offerings.

With the introduction of RIO Mini, RAD is positioned to reach a broader segment of the market, including clients who may have previously hesitated to adopt advanced security solutions due to budget limitations. This addition to the product lineup reflects the Company’s ongoing focus on addressing evolving market demands with practical, high-performance offerings. RIO Mini reinforces RAD’s reputation for innovation and dependability while making intelligent autonomous response more accessible across a wider range of use cases.

RIO Mini’s aggressive pricing has not been publicly disclosed. Interested dealers, clients, and prospects are encouraged to contact RAD directly for additional details and availability.

TMA Members Win SIA NPS Awards at 2025 ISC West

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Established in 1979, the SIA New Products and Solutions (NPS) Awards, formerly the SIA New Product Showcase, recognize innovative physical security products, services and solutions. Technologies showcased through this program are used in the protection of life and property in residential, commercial and institutional settings. The SIA NPS Awards program, presented annually at ISC West, recognizes winners in several product and service categories and presents the prestigious Judges’ Choice and Best New Product awards. The showcase also offers a special physical display area where buyers can discover the latest in security products.

Several TMA members were awarded SIA NPS Awards last week at the 2025 ISC West in Las Vegas.

We’re pleased to congratulate the TMA winners…

Judges’ Choice Award
Winner: #RoboticAssistanceDevices #RAD – SARA – AI Security Agent for Autonomous Threat Detection and Response

Convergence and Integration Solutions
Winner: #AURA – AURA Auto Guard Dispatch

Fire/Life Safety
Winner: #Honeywell – Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) Compliance Manager With Auto-Pass
Honorable Mention: #Honeywell – CLSS Cloud-Connected Horizon

Managed Services
Honorable Mention: #AlliedUniversal – Unified Command Center Threat

Detection and Response Solutions
Winner: #RoboticAssistanceDevices #RAD – SARA – AI Security Agent for Autonomous Threat Detection and Response

Video Surveillance Advanced Imaging Technologies
Winner: #AxisCommunications – ARTPEC-9

Video Surveillance Cameras
Honorable Mention: #AxisCommunications – AXIS Q1809-LE Bullet Camera